Strawberry Cold Storage Method

Maintaining the desired level of temperature is the most important factor in reducing fruit decay and prolonging post-harvest life. The best way to keep decay to a minimum is to ensure that the fruits are brought to the environment with a temperature as close to zero degrees as quickly as possible. The degradation of ripe fruits is associated with high metabolic activities, high levels of fruit temperature, which leads to the development of decay and internal degradation.Inaccuracies in providing low temperature during the collection, storage and transport of fruits will result in reductions in the quantity of marketable and quality products.Fruits kept at 20 oC can survive only 25-50 % of the fruit compared to fruits kept at 0 oC.

Shelf life can be reduced to only a few hours if the berries are kept close to 30 ° C. After the fruits are collected, they should be protected from heat during their stay in the field. Because of their dark color, they will absorb heat if exposed to direct sunlight and may rise to higher temperatures than air temperature.The amount of heat in the fruit varies according to the temperature difference between the fruit and the air, the exposure to the sun, the air flow on the fruit, and the moisture level present on the fruit.Pre-cooling of strawberries (removal of land heat quickly) must be done within one hour after harvest. The 2,4,6,8-hour delay in cooling reduces marketable fruit by 20%, 37%, 50% and 70% respectively.

These values were determined according to the fruits kept at 25 oC. The most common method used for the pre-cooling of fruits is air cooling using power. This is the fastest and most widely accepted system in small businesses. In this system, cold air is sent to the rooms with fruit crates . Direct contact of cold air with hot fruits is provided. It is important that the strawberry package strings are placed in such a way that the cold air contacts all fruits. The most common design is a tunnel arrangement. Gaps are left between the loaded pallet rows in two rows of halves, and the top and end of the tunnel are covered with a tarpaulin.The cold air moves through the spaces between the rows and packs, contacts the hot fruits and circulates through the cold room, allowing the fruit temperatures to be carried out.